JCB recently appointed Liftech Construction Equipment as its dealer for all of upstate New York. With locations in Albany, Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo, Liftech is poised to meet the needs of all upstate New York present and future JCB customers.
Liftech will represent the full JCB line, which includes:
• Tractor loader backhoes (six models),
• Loadall material handlers (10 models),
• Skid steers (four models),
• Mini-excavators (six models),
• Excavators, including a 100,000-lb. (45,359 kg) machine (seven models), and
• Rubber-tired loaders (seven models).
“We’re very proud and excited to be JCB’s distributor for upstate New York,” said Joseph Verzino, president of Liftech. “This is a tremendous opportunity for our company and for our current and future customers.”
Verzino added that although JCB is widely known for its tractor loader backhoe, he has found that many contractors do not realize that JCB now offers a complete line of construction equipment. Consequently, Verzino believes that Liftech has a tremendous opportunity to introduce the full JCB lineup to current backhoe loader customers “who have already built up a tremendous confidence in JCB’s reliability.”
Bruce Prashaw, general manager of Liftech’s construction equipment division, who has 33 years of experience in the sales and support of construction equipment in the New York market, said he sees that the largest potential customer base for Liftech is with sewer and water contractors, building contractors and specifically owner/operators. “We will be spending a large amount of our time targeting these customers, which are currently JCB loader backhoe owners who have had tremendous success with these, but now could be taking a look at the balance of the rest of the JCB product line,” he said.
It may be surprising to know that the marriage of Liftech and JCB happened by accident, if not by serendipity. Liftech had been a distributor of Skatrack skid steers and material handlers, but when Volvo purchased Skatrack, Liftech was left without a product offering. Liftech contacted JCB about the possibility of marketing JCB’s rough terrain forklifts. One thing led to another and JCB ultimately asked Liftech to carry its complete product line.
Among many things, Verzino is impressed with JCB’s commitment to the North American market, particularly the company’s a new factory in Savannah, GA, which is 500,000 sq. ft. and covers 1,100 acres. JCB now manufactures 70 percent of all the backhoes it sells in the United States at its facility in Georgia.
Liftech’s commitment to Upstate New York parallels that of JCB’s commitment to North America. In 1987, Verzino purchased what later became known as Liftech from a Syracuse-area construction equipment dealer, which also was in the forklift and material handling business.
At the time of purchase, the company employed approximately 100 people. Just a few years later, the company grew to 170 employees. Verzino attributes Liftech’s tremendous growth to three specific company strategies:
• Put a strong focus on market penetration.
• Place a strong emphasis on customer satisfaction.
• Create innovative customer applications for the company’s product lines.
Customer service makes up a dominant share of Liftech’s staff. Of the company’s 170 employees, 90 of them work in technical support and parts.
According to Verzino, at press time, 80 of Liftech’s employees have received JCB factory training. What’s more, approximately half of Liftech’s support/mechanic/technical people have an agricultural or construction background.
Liftech is backing up its JCB line with a substantial investment in parts inventory. Most of these parts already have arrived at Liftech’s four locations. And, 25 JCB machines already have been delivered to the various locations, with the rest on its way.
Liftech’s JCB sales staff is virtually in place. According to Verzino, all but two sales positions are filled. And Liftech’s sales staff will be uniquely qualified to help meet upstate New York contractors’ needs. Verzino explained:
“Our [sales] people are being highly, technically trained so that if a contractor is looking at a unique set of challenges, we will have the resources and the training to bring innovative and new approaches to solving some of these challenges,” he said. “Also, our sales people will be specifically trained in financial merchandising, so that they will be able to break down very specifically for a contractor his return on investment in purchasing JCB equipment and what the actual cost of ownership of his JCB equipment will be. Thirdly, all of our people will be equipped with tremendous computer resources to further assist them in bringing the proper information to the customer.”
Liftech also will be offering a designated rental fleet, which will be available for long- and short-term, and demo machines to JCB customers and potential JCB customers. “We will be offering creative JCB financing and also a wide variety of other financing so that we will have the flexibility to meet the needs of our customers. We will also be offering rent-to-own and lease programs,” Verzino said.
Upstate New York contractors soon will have an opportunity to get hands-on experience with the JCB product line. Liftech presently will be scheduling open houses for spring 2003 and it also will be attending upcoming New York State construction equipment trade shows.
In addition to JCB, Liftech is dealer of Hyster forklifts, Genie lifts and Hotsy high-pressure washers.
For more information, call 315/463-7333.
This story also appears on Crane Equipment Guide.
Craig Mongeau
Craig Mongeau has been Construction Equipment Guide’s editor in chief for the past 21-plus years. He directly manages CEG’s Northeast and Southeast editions (which includes New England, Georgia and Alabama state supplements); Superintendent’s Profile; Crane Guide; Northeast and Southeast-based anniversary magazines; and special event publications. He also oversees CEG’s Midwest and Western Editions as well as all CEG website content.
A Hofstra University graduate, Craig began his publishing career as a staff writer for local Southeast Pennsylvania newspapers. He then became an associate editor and book editor of Springhouse Corporation, a Pennsylvania-based medical publishing house and then worked as a managing editor of Rockhill Communications, based in Bala Cynwyd, Pa., where he created and managed content for a national Voluntary Hospital Association website.
Originally from Pittsfield, Mass., Craig has lived in North Wales, Pa., for the past 27 years. He has been married to his wife, Hillary, whom he met in college, since 1998 and together, they have two daughters, Jolie and Aubrie.
Read more from Craig Mongeau here.
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